PhD Project - profiles - students say...

Students added these thoughts and reflections on studying at university to their QNR replies:

These are the collected reflections, comments and thoughts on studying and university provided by students in the free-text area of the research QNR ...

... indicating no learning challenges or learning challenges other than dyslexia:

'In primary school and most of secondary school I was a high achiever. But ever since then, I am disappointed at every results day. I am not good at exams but I am quite clever. It's a weird place to be because my grades never show my knowledge! ' Read more:

'I attend a lot of lectures as part of my course and on some days have three consecutive hours of lectures. I find that after a while my attention wavers and I struggle to focus. On the other hand, I thoroughly enjoy seminars and lab classes and feel that I benefit much more academically in this setting ...' Read more:

'Until university no one has ever recommended I go and get tested for a learning disability. Some fellow dyslexic students have suggested I go because although I don't struggle with reading and spelling that much, i find it extremely difficult to put words into sentences and structure any piece of writing... ' Read more:

'As a mature student returning to full time study after a gap of 25 years I think more support should be available for us. Technology has moved on so much and being a student now is nothing like it was then. Examples are PowerPoint Presentations, packages for statistical analysis, presentation skills and graphics... ' Read more:

'I like silence to study in, true no talking as it is a way for me to get immersed into reading. I find it hard to start an essay but once I have written a satisfactory introduction I can start to form the rest of my essay. I truly leave it to the last minute but I take the stance that is how I study ...' Read more:

'I am born half deaf (my right ear cannot hear at all), so sometimes it is difficult for me to join a discussion or debate especially when people are talking in different dialects and accents. However, I learnt that I shouldn't feel ashamed with my disability and tell my teachers and classmates about it ...' Read more:

'... I think that the only way we can help anyone within society who has a disadvantage is by asking THEM, not assuming that they are incompetent and that as professionals, policy makers etc, we are placed in a better position then those who are living with the challenges. Therefore, I think its vital that the university (or any institute) has regular reviews and feedback from those who use their services in order to continue to develop effective support stratergies... ' Read more:

'... I have issues with procrastinating, time management and making an effective plan of knowing where to start. I also have recently found that I work better during the night, as compared to the day. I do leave starting my work to the last minute and generally I do produce good work, however I leave little time for editing and improvements... ' Read more:

'... There is so much emphasis on working hard and making the most of this opportunity to do well academically that it can be hard for students with health problems or long-term illnesses/disabilities to feel ok about NOT working 100% when they don't feel up to it...' Read more:

'... I can sometimes have all-or-nothing thinking, which makes it difficult to be critical and explain in detail. Sometimes it feels as if my mind spirals when I think about one topic for too long. I sometimes lose track of my original idea/thought. On the other hand, this extreme over thinking can be beneficial when my task is to find a solution for a problem...' Read more:

'As an undergraduate engineer I feel my course just hits me with just piles and piles of content and lots of long derivations which we are expected to know come exam time but get no real guidance on how to answer exam style questions. Also I feel we lack in the number of tutorials we receive. We need to apply our theory more to practice questions which may aid us in understanding what's required... ' Read more:

'I suffer under mad procrastination, feel not disciplined enough to do my work and distract myself all the time as soon as I managed to start working on my studies. The biggest problem are smartphones I believe, I don't know if a uni can improve that... It feels like an immediate stimulation to pick up the phone everytime it vibrates with a new message ... ' Read more:

'Hard to concentrate. However I regard that I do not have a learning difficulty. Too much information is bombarded upon you. It can be overwhelming in lectures and classes. Need more one-to-one and smaller classes... ' Read more:

'I attend University one day per week. I am a part time undergraduate and also work full time 3 days a week. I feel that uni, is too noisy, busy, crowded and generally feel overwhelmed by the whole experience. I think that is a result of coming from a fairly quite market town ... ' Read more:

'My only learning challenge is extreme laziness. This occasionally results in me not reaching my full potential as it means i leave assignments and revision till late, causing me to rush and not be fully prepared. This stems from a lack of motivation and drive towards studying ... ' Read more:

'I think grades should be kept strictly confidential in order to remove the competitive atmosphere which makes some feel embarrassed and others feel guilty ... ' Read more:

'I hate working in groups although being in a lecture as an individual is fine.I have difficulty with anything social and need (and usually can't find) somewhere quiet to withdraw when I am feeling overloaded by noise or crowds. Sleep pods at Uni would be good so that if you have all day lectures after a night of studying you could take a catnap. ... ' Read more:

'As I am an international student, I can compare the way studiyng worked at a German university compared to an English university. While you have more freedom with your essays at an English university, many students also feel lost due to that. In Germany, ... ' Read more:

'It would be helpful if more lectures were recorded so that I could go over them again afterwards ... ' Read more:

'While at university and general studies I music associate. I remember a particular music track with a particular topic. While music is nothing new, it is not classical. Having songs I listen to on a frequent basis make learning easier in the background and are easier to recall in exam conditions to fill the silence ... ' Read more:

'I believe everyone has his own strategy of reading and how he does his educational system, which works for them ... ' Read more:

'My learning challenges that I face are organising my assignments effectively on time, completing my exams on time, Although I get extra time for them and to provide the best work and get good grades. ... ' Read more:

'More practical work with complete breakdown ... ' Read more:

'I'm the type of person who gets anxious when they have nothing to do. I always need to keep busy, especially when it comes to work. As soon as I get a piece of coursework, I try and get it done to a high standard. This is a strength, as well as a challenge. I don't like ... ' Read more:

'This is interesting approach to analise study habits... ' Read more:

'University is way too isolated for me... ' Read more:

'For exams I revise the citations which cue my memory of the facts. Making sure that information on lectures slides are cited on each slide- as I can sometimes never find the information they are referring to but I want to cite this in exams (for coursework it is different ... ' Read more:

' For me the main challenge is the time it takes me to read and process ideas. I often have to repeatedly read the same section of text in order to process the information. I seem to read quickly but miss the information in the text, then have to read it again slowly ... ' Read more:

'I feel like my disability is not taken into account when marking my assignments and i have had some really nasty comments by lectures on my work. work that i have tried very hard in. making me feel like i just shouldnt be at uni. ... ' Read more:

'Ways that studying at Uni can be improved is by far, to teach students on how to learn. We're always taught the content for a specific subject, but has anyone every taught a student on how to learn? ... ' Read more:

'My learning difficulty is related to my working memory and it has only recently been diagnosed. Working through problems in small groups is good rather than on my own in my room. Wordy exams are very difficult. ... ' Read more:

'I think when completing any work I struggle to get motivation, when I do sit down to complete work or read it only last for 20 minuted till I get distracted by something else. When I read I read over the same paragraph on numerous times to understand it. This causes me ... ' Read more:

'I tend to have this brain fog, before which I seem to know what to do, where to go etc. All of a sudden, this fog envelopes my mind and I forget even basics like where i put the pen, which road am i driving on ... ' Read more:

'It may be noteworthy that I do not have dyslexia or a similar condition - but do have a disability in that I am blind in one eye and judge this effects my studying significantly. ... ' Read more:

... indicating dyslexia as a learning challenge:

'I was told I have dyslexia when I was in primary school, since then I have not been reassessed. I personally believe I do not have the condition because the grades that I came out with in secondary and college is not what many believe those with dyslexia can achieve... ' Read more:

'I find directions very hard to follow and forget a lot of important information such as appointments and appointment times. I have to keep a detailed online diary which sends me emails and phone notifications of lecture times and rooms as well as appointments... ' Read more:

'I am a visual person for me its easier to remember something if i am shown a image of that thing. i struggle greatly reading from a computer screen and even from paper my vision gets blurred and makes me anxious and i end up avoiding it for some time after that... ' Read more:

'I was diagnosed with dyslexia 1 year ago in uni, I struggles alot throughout secondary and college, I guess I was not surprise when I get bad grades because I always thought I was writing well at the time of doing an essay but reading back and hearing teachers feedback made sense most of the time... ' Read more:

'I don't really like feeling different because people start treating you differently if they know you have dyslexia and they normally don't want to work with you because of this, but having software on a laptop and that helps me alot because i can not focus on writing and listening in lectures so i miss out alot of things... ' Read more:

'In approaching my studies I often look for the positives and try not to focuss on the negatives - I want to increase my capabilities of learning and the work that's produced from that - so challenging work is good but I've got to be really careful that it's not too difficult (in reference to question 2.2-6). Nevertheless, I do have to battle with elements of doubt and self deprivation; particularly influenced by bullying at primary and secondary school - to do with 'stupidity' 'slowness' and my seemingly unrelated comments to topics ...' Read more:

'I like learning but find it frustrating when the instruction aren't clear and tutor want me to do it there way because it is harder for me to work they way because it has added pressure because I not way I organise myself. I have had time and cant do feels at short notice.'
Read more:

'My final year in Middlesex University and it has been an amazing journey. I have come a long way! First year of my degree, I found out about dyslexic and I was massively traumatised by it. I thought learning would never be the same again, due to my learning disabilities. Nevertheless, I manage to over come my fear and changed it into a positive advantages... ' Read more:

'Honestly I am not embarrasses about dyslexic because since high school and college I struggle alot and teachers always though I am bit lazy guy who don't care much about future careers and it real hurt my confiences, but i still manage to believed myself that I can achieve something great near future and this why I am manage to carrying on my studies... ' Read more:

'When I was at school i was told that I had dyslexia, when I told them I wanted to be a nurse they laughed at me and said I would not achieve this and I was best off getting a job in supermarket. Here I am now doing nursing ! ...' Read more:

'I found audio recording lectures was quite helpful. Also, when lectures were interactive or when images or films were included I got a better understandingof the subject' ... Read more:

'My dyslexia affects my organization abilities mostly. I'm strong academically and have never lacked confidence despite quite strong learning difficulties because I have a good memory. I am chronically late, disorganized and often have large dips in academic confidence, however I am not a good student' ... Read more:

'When given reading, it often takes me a lot longer than other students. This is not only physically tiring as I often have to miss sleep to keep up, bit it is also emotionally draining. I often dread seminars ...' Read more:

'Im on a Creative and media course. im 42 and autistic. with adhd and dyspraxia and the whole lot. I tend to get firsts for purely creative work. ie poetry/fiction. however essays i get 2/2s at best and i always need lots of help from tutors. they are very supportive though' ... Read more:

'Sometimes my mind feels slower than others, processes things slowly' ... Read more:

'distractability is a major issue, like, if I could focus more, I would probably get more done, spend more time studying and achieve better. I haven't the attention span to do this, though have found going to the gym almost every day, doing a sport and having an active job have helped slightly. ' ... Read more:

'I think there could be more support for students with learning difficulties. As of yet, the dyslexia team haven't been very helpful or supportive. I think that is partly down to me not really being aware of what support is available to me.' ... Read more:

'Much more confident verbally than on paper. Pretty good at tutorials, less good at exams' ... Read more:

'My struggles to focus on a smaller details means that I often panic when I have lots of small details things to consider, lists often help.
One thing that my university experience could be improved ...' Read more:

'I usually use very visual ways to learn for example drawing funny pictures to remember medication names or names of illnesses and I can get the words confused in my head, I think of the right word but the wrong one come out. I'm a very visual learner. In reguards to university studies to be improved ...' Read more:

'I find independent learning quite difficult and would prefer more in depth help from tutors to give a clear idea of what is accepted' ... Read more:

'My main problem is that I find it difficult to read from computer screens and for long hours. When reading for long hours either from books or from computer screen, my eyes ache and the words get all mixed up. I only have 60% of my vision wearing glasses and this is connected with my dyslexia. I need extra time to do everything.' ... Read more:

'It helps when their is a virtual learning environment or online presence to support the lectures (before - so you don't feel lost in the lecture and afterwards encase you still don't understand)' ... Read more:

'I am a distance learning student doing a practice based MA in Education. I monthly contact sessions for a big part of the course which I found extremely valuable. It helped to make sense of the course instructions and helped me to organize my work which I found most difficult' ... Read more:

'I find it best writing and studying at home - there's less pressure then and less distractions.
Time is a huge pressure factor when it comes to eductation - the amount of time between being given an assignment and completeing it and having all the other classes and things to do inbetween that deadline whilst trying to juggle organising time to write on the essay or another essay - I find particularly challenging' ... Read more:

'I also have irlens syndrome. It would be helpful to have my support pack in place including software now due to exams but unfortunately due to student finance issues i can't. It's frustrating because i know its going to affect my overall grade.' ... Read more:

'I have found the VLE very usefull and being able to listen back to lectures as I don't always remember them. I think getting the reading list early helps as I can try to get a head start as it takes me longer. my support tutor has shown me how to use endnote and although it was confusing at first ...' Read more:

'I was diagnosed with Special Learning difficulties before I came to University, they could not quite pin my problems on one or two things as I had a mixture of all of them. However, as I have been through school without knowing I had these major problems ...' Read more:



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